A Random Access Channel (RACH) is an uplink channel in mobile communication system used for transferring control information from a mobile terminal to the network, e.g. for initial access to set up a connection or for location area updates. The RACH channel is a contention based channel where several users might access the same resource. There is usually no knowledge about the required transmit power of the mobile terminal and thus an open loop power control method is applied. Currently the successor of 3G UMTS, called 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE), is being standardized. Unlike universal mobile terrestrial system (UMTS) that uses wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) in the uplink, LTE is based on Single Carrier orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA).